ABSTRACT
This book examines the process of structural transformation and the interconnections with the myriad and complex drivers of economic change, notably industrialization, employment, poverty and urbanization. Clearly, the most successful countries in our sample have undergone sustained and gradual transition from agrarian economies into high-productivity agricultural and industrial sectors. In the long-term evolution of countries, some have made the shift through ruralurban divide to achieve sustained urbanization. For example, China’s stellar economic performance has been driven in large part by sustainable and well-managed urbanization and dynamic industrialization. A poignant demonstration of the impact of urban dynamics is the fact that the top 10 cities in China account for 20 per cent of the country’s GDP (Cadena et al. 2012). The country has industrialized in the context of several urban economic hubs that boast of modern infrastructure fostering technological change and innovation within very competitive milieu. In sum, there is a close connection between industrialization and sustainable urbanization aptly demonstrated in this book. Where these two dynamic processes are positively connected, we find strong employment and sustained economic growth, progressive rise in living standards and lowering of poverty.
